V is for Volcano

Ah, here is where I am honoring the fiery lady who was not mentioned in the P post. Her name is Madam Pele and she is the volcano goddess of Hawaii. At least she’s not giving me the "stink eye” anymore – stink eye is the local term for a dirty look.

Original source from Wikipedia Commons: a lava vent from the Volcanoes National Park.
Photo by the USGS , cropped, then text added.

Of course Hawaii has a volcano goddess! Doesn’t every country have a volcano goddess? No? Well, why not? Oh, you don’t have volcanoes where you live? I see..

The volcano is a major force of nature in Hawaii, not just a cliché symbol of Hawaii. Having said that, I haven’t seen any vintage Hawaii tourist posters of big volcanoes, but maybe they’re around. And there are no Hawaiian tales or reference that I’ve heard about of virgins being sacrificed to the volcano. It’s Hollywood’s poetic license.

Kitschy Hawaii volcano ashtray souvenir. 

Hawaii’s volcanoes are shield volcanoes – they have a gentle slope, not a sharply angled cone. These volcanoes under the ocean spurted up lava that developed into mountains that eventually reached the ocean’s surface, kept growing, and became islands. The islands in the northwest of the Hawaiian island chain are older and more eroded by time.. those volcanoes have become craters or hills, those older islands have more coral reefs, white sand beaches, and less or no black sand beaches. The Big Island of Hawaii hosts two active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, and the landscape looks rocky and black in many places.

Maui, where I live, is a younger island. The last volcanic eruption occurred around 1790, but theoretically Haleakala, the name of the mountain and volcano, could erupt again.

Lava is a real threat in certain places on the Big Island. However, it's rare to hear of anyone dying in a lava flow or volcanic eruption. The lava tends to move very slowly. Even when it's "explosive," that's in areas far away from people. However, I did visit the beautiful black sand beach of Kalapana on a school trip, and years later, it was overrun with lava. 

The Hawaiian goddess Pele is the subject of many superstitions and legends, and she is especially regarded on the Big Island. Even if Pele’s existence contradicts one’s religious beliefs, locals still have respect for Pele. There are too many tales to retell, but some beliefs around lava and Madam Pele include:

Lava rock - can be reddish or gray. It's not always black. 

1. Don’t take lava home. Leave lava rocks in Hawaii. It’s considered bad luck to take Pele’s rocks. Every year, thousands of pounds of lava rock are mailed back to the Big Island from tourists who experienced “bad luck” from taking lava home.

2. If you see a solitary woman hitchhiker on the Big Island, give her a ride. It could be Madam Pele in disguise.

3. If you are visiting the volcano, leave Pele an offering. Common gifts include leis and food. I’ve also heard she likes Jack Daniels and other hard liquor.

Updated 4/26/13. I'm including some lava or volcano related posts by Big Island bloggers: 

• Found a wonderful post by Saturdays with Maggy on her volcano escape backpacking adventure.
• Maggy recommended a New Year's Lava hike from Thrustacline, a Big Island geologist. 
• If you're hankering for the latest lava pictures and views of the volcano, try Hawaiian Lava Daily. 
• Lava related posts by Damon Tucker. 

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